National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron completed a record-breaking dive to the lowest point of the Mariana Trench. See scenes as Cameron's sub, DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, resurfaced, and Cameron emerged from the pilot's capsule around noon, local time (10 p.m. ET March 25th).

In other words, he didn't see much, save for a few inch-long amphipods, shrimplike bottom feeders, scuttling across the soft ocean floor. Due to a hyraulic failure on his submarine's sample collector, Cameron was also unable to bring back much in the way of souvenirs.

Cameron is just the third person in history to visit Challenger Deep, which lies in the 1,500-mile-long Mariana Trench in the North Pacific. The other two adventurers, US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard, took their dive together in 1960. But they didn't see much, as their landing stirred up so much sediment that it obscured their vision. After just 20 minutes on the bottom, the two explorers returned to the surface empty-handed.

The vessel is innovative in several ways. To protect against the potentially crushing pressure in the deep sea, the project's lead engineer, Ron Allum, designed a new foam flotation material Isofloat that will not crack, compress or lose buoyancy on the journey. This foam makes up 70 percent of the submersible's volume.

Other important components of the sub are its lights and cameras. Cameron captured hi-resolution 3D footage during his dive.

Though he has the necessary skills for the job, Cameron's physical attributes provided some challenges: All six feet, two inches of Cameron were crammed inside a metal sphere with a diameter at the surface of just 43 inches. During the dive, Cameron reported that his sub shrank by three inches, due to the immense pressure.